Unclear if passenger or pilot killed; witnesses see explosion

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BERNALILLO, N.M. — A hot air balloon crashed into power lines and burst into flames Friday during Albuquerque’s annual balloon fiesta, throwing both men on board to the ground and killing one of them.

An 11-year-old boy was injured in a separate accident after getting tangled in ropes.

Witnesses said that winds had picked up a bit and that many of the balloons were flying low right before the crash.

Kathie Leyendecker, a spokeswoman for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, did not know whether it was the pilot or the passenger who was killed when the Wings of Wind balloon crashed in Bernalillo, just north of Albuquerque.

One man was found dead at the scene; the second man was unconscious, Rio Rancho Fire Battalion Chief Paul Bearce said. He was in critical condition at University of New Mexico Hospital.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Glenn Vonderahe, a witness. “I saw the balloon and the next thing I knew, there was a lot of fire and smoke. There was total fire under the balloon.”

He first saw the balloon land, then bounce back up and apparently hit some power lines, he said. The balloon was stuck in the lines for a time, and then Vonderahe saw the balloon portion — called the envelope — float away, a burning tank still attached.

“Debris was flying everywhere,” he said. The tank fell harmlessly to the ground, and the drifting envelope was eventually found about 15 miles away.

Hundreds of balloons fill skyThe National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, said National Guard Lt. Col. John Fishburn.

The yellow, brown and orange triangle-shaped balloon was among hundreds participating in Friday’s events at the balloon fiesta, which runs through Sunday.

“I was excited to see all the balloons, but to have it end like that, I was just shaking like a leaf and my legs felt like Jell-O,” said witness Terri Bordelon of Sterlington, La.

There were several reports of hard landings. In one of them, an 11-year-old passenger was injured after he became entangled in the ropes and was dragged along the ground for about 20 feet, Bearce said. The boy’s condition was not immediately known.

The festival, held each October, is Albuquerque’s pre-eminent tourist draw. Growing from a 1972 gathering at a shopping mall parking lot, it now hosts hundreds of balloons and pilots and draws tens of thousands of visitors to the city.

But it has had fatalities before, mostly from balloons hitting power lines. Last year, a 60-year-old Oceanside, Calif., woman fell at least 70 feet to her death and three other women were hospitalized after their balloon snagged a power line.

In 1982, four people died when propane tanks on a large balloon exploded. Other fatalities were recorded in 1990, 1993 and 1998.

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